Diet Soda - am I drinking too much?

I'm not a fan or anything like that, but I do drink a small can of Diet Coke every school day (monday to friday) and probably a glass during weekends lunch or something. I know aspartame is bad, and I think I'm consuming too much... what do you think? I don't like having lunch with juices or non-diet sodas (too sweet) but I guess I could always drink water.

So, can 1 small can of diet coke a day affect my health or something in the long or short term? Can aspartame affect weight-loss in a bad way?

:O

The worst thing I've heard about diet sodas and weight loss are...

1. The sodium content. You may not be factoring that into your full sodium count on a low sodium diet, and it adds up quickly.

2. It, as all artificial sweeteners do, keep your body conditioned to prefer sweet things.

I don't think its bad if you have one can a day. I have a friend who drinks it like how we drink water. She drinks like can after can. Yet she's still okay...so far. But I'm sure one can a day won't be too bad. It's better than drinking a can of regular coke a day.

one can/glass a day is fine.

All that carbonation and acids can't be good for your body, though, especially your bones.  But I suppose diet is better than the regular.

You mean it's better because it has no sugar? Or better in every way? Because I think, with all the things they put into diet coke it should be more 'toxic' than a regular one with added sugar. Is in fact regular WORSE (besides calories, lol)? :O

If you look on the can, it clearly states that a diet soda contains phenylalanine, which is an amino acid.  Now, natural phenylalanine ties into a hormone that you make for your thyroid.  When you introduce this "dietary" form of phenylalanine (D-phenylalanine), it confuses your body and it will compete with what is in your body already (L-phenylalanine).  Thus, your body will not function properly and you could feel like you have developed hypothyroidism.  This means a decrease in thyroid hormone which is responsible for metabolism aka weight loss.  So, the outcome of this fact would lead to weight gain.  So yes, too much diet soda is not good for you.

Crikies!! I had no idea about all of that phenylalanine stuff- I drink 2 cans of Coke Zero every day!

It's addictive stuff- I used to not be able to drink a can of pop in one sitting, and would only drink 1 glass of pop on special occasions, maybe once every 3 months or so.

The worst thing that I can tell from personal experience is that I drink way less water, which is not good.

Time to start cutting it out I guess...and here I just bought 2 cases of it yesterday! :)

Good to know info chirojedi!

I think both types of soda are equally bad but I opt diet if I have to get a drink with my meal somewhere. Otherwise, I just go with water. =/ Not incrediably helpful, but I guess what I'm saying is soda is soda. It's not going to be as good for you as water no matter what form it's in.

After doing some searching on my own, here's what I found.

Moderator sheila_c had this to say in a previous post regarding specifically Crystal Light, but dealing with aspartame as well (to check out the thread, click here):

How Much Aspartame Is Safe to Consume on a Regular Basis? The FDA recommends no more than 50 milligrams of aspartame per 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) of body weight per day for adults. The average person consumes less than 2% of this amount each day. In fact, to reach this level, the average adult would need to drink about 20 cans of diet soft drink each day, and the average child would need to drink seven cans.

Here's a quick guide of popular products and the average amount of aspartame in each serving:

• 12 ounces (360 milliliters) of diet soda = 225 milligrams of aspartame
• 8 ounces (240 milliliters) of sugar-free yogurt = 80 milligrams of aspartame
• 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) of sugar-free frozen dairy dessert (frozen yogurt, ice cream, etc.) = 47 milligrams of aspartame
• 1 packet of artificial sweetener = 37 milligrams of aspartame

http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/feeding/a spartame.html

Wanted to add this thought- just because the FDA says you can, doesn't mean you should. I guess it's as the saying goes, everything in moderation.

As for me, I'm going to cut down to one can per day.

Ughhh, hypothyroidism can't be good xD (I happen to be learing that at school now). Well, at least it's 1 those SMALL can, nd not a regular sized one.

New here, and joined for all the usual reasons, but this string caught my soapbox in high gear.

Statement; No Amount of Diet Sodas containing any phenylalanine are good for you, or, maybe even more critical, any unborn childs development........

I have a personal reason; have a relationship with a wonderful person who, ok does not have the greatest diet or health habits. Is just beginning to understand how bad HFCS, Fats, Additives, SodiumNitrates, Sodium et al ar, ohh yeah  has 2 Autistic children, and drinks Diet P**si by the 2-4 liter a day, so does her mother, and have for a loooonngg time, has headaches daily, has dieting issues and still does not accept how bad the Diet Soda and phenylalanine are.

And it sad to even think there may be other links, .........:(

Read on.

Sorry to rain on anyones "Diet Soda" parade, but you really need to forget what FDA approves or not, and realize Product marketing for any product will not tell you it can harm you or kill you unless they are made to and only after many lawyers get thier $ out of it and more people are harmed, We as a society really fail at understanding things, and want to believe,,, aaaa go ahead and smoke, it's fine and can't harm you, they said,

Wheres Erin Brochovich "..I believe that people can accomplish anything if given the proper information..." you need the proper information ..,.seee?

when you REALLY need her:?

Here she is

oops forgot, shouldnt post links to sites etc sorry, do your own goog search for her name and site then,

Umm, Yes, FDA Approval does not always mean good for you.  Depends on whose monies, companies and back yards they are in.,.....and the usual "Studies & Research...show..." which are more then likely funded through 3rd party Consultants to the Industry Lobbiests related to the subject.

i.e.; look into HFCS "Studies" and see who funds most of those; the Corn Growers of course.

Note Aspertame when 1st introduced was actually Banned by the FDA, for many reasons, not withstanding the fact that it breaks down into Formeldyhde when heated, or contains amounts of phenylalanine, the PKU problem and Phenylketonuria warning.

Note you should really be looking deeper into how bad continuos amounts of intake of phenylalanine, and also benzene which more than likely is also present due to the reaction of the ascorbic acids and other compounds react under heat and pressure to create benzene, which was banned in gasoline, but I digress, and don't have as much slush mony to contribute to congress and committies that approve things for us.

Also look into the connection of phenylalanine to Developmental Disorders, Mental Retardation, genetic damage, neurological disorders, and gee more then likely again,.,,,,may end up being linked to Autism Spectrum Disorders,.

How much Diet soda aka with phenylalanine  is good for a Mother with a Developing Fetus to consume... the answer is....

ZERO!!! Any additional increase in phenylalanine amounts in the womb can result in damage to the development of the brain tissue,  this is a proven fact.

and is more researched and documented with the PKU issue than others, but I see it may be soon.

Diet Soda=bad 4U!

Now if x=Increased levels of Phenylalanine can result in Genetic damage & disorders,
And y=is present in artificial sweeteners
And z=is already found in all proteins
Why then= 1= would you desire to add to or increase the levels of Phenylalanine & artificial sweeteners in your daily diet if it can result in X??

Phenylketonuria (PKU),the benzene, phenylalanine, diet soda connection and maybe Autism Spectrum?

Known fact:
phenylalanine accumulation disrupts brain development, leading to mental retardation.

Effected children are normal at birth, but fail to attain early developmental milestones, varying degrees of risk to develop microcephaly , and demonstrated impairment of cerebral function. Hyperactivity , EEG   abnormalities and seizures, and severe learning disabilities are major clinical problems later in life.

Known fact.
Many diet foods and diet soft drinks that contain the sweetener aspartame  must also be avoided, as aspartame consists of two amino acids: phenylalanine and aspartic acid.

 Known fact.
 benzaldehyde and benzoic acid is present in higher rise levels as well in patients afflicted with Følling's disease, mental retardation and related neuro transmitted inhibited functioning traits.

Known fact.
Benzene (which does occur and exist in diet soda when the compounds, sweeteners and acids combine under pressure & heat) is the substance found that was subjected to much more basic and rudimentary chemical analysis (taste).  Research & Tests have been conducted and have found reactions that gave rise to benzaldehyde and benzoic acid , which concludes the compound contained a benzene ring and also combined with elevated levels of phenylalanine
were present in the afflicted patients in the studies.

 Known fact.
In most countries, women who wish to have children are advised to lower their blood phenylalanine levels before they become pregnant and carefully control their phenylalanine levels throughout the pregnancy.

Phenylalanine is an amino acid that is needed for normal growth and development. If a baby's body does not have the enzyme that changes phenylalanine into another amino acid called tyrosine, the phenylalanine level builds up in the baby's blood and can cause brain damage, seizures, and mental retardation.

Babies born to mothers with uncontrolled phenylalanine levels (women who no longer follow a low-phenylalanine diet) have a significant risk of intellectual disability because they are exposed to very high levels of phenylalanine before birth. These infants may also have a low birth weight and grow more slowly than other children. Other characteristic medical problems include heart defects or other heart problems, an abnormally small head size (microcephaly), and behavioral problems. Women with uncontrolled phenylalanine levels also have an increased risk of pregnancy loss

Facts from NIH
What is the normal function of the PAH gene?
The PAH gene provides instructions for making an enzyme called phenylalanine hydroxylase. This enzyme is responsible for the first step in processing phenylalanine, which is a building block of proteins (an amino acid) obtained through the diet. Phenylalanine is found in all proteins and in some artificial sweeteners.

How are changes in the PAH gene related to health conditions?
More than 500 mutations in the PAH gene have been identified. Most of these mutations change single amino acids in phenylalanine hydroxylase. For example, the most common mutation in many populations replaces the amino acid arginine with the amino acid tryptophan at position 408 (written as Arg408Trp or R408W).

Other PAH mutations delete small amounts of DNA from the gene or disrupt the way the gene's instructions are used to make phenylalanine hydroxylase.

PAH mutations reduce the activity of phenylalanine hydroxylase, preventing it from processing phenylalanine effectively.

As a result, this amino acid can build up to toxic levels in the blood and other tissues.

Because nerve cells in the brain are particularly sensitive to phenylalanine levels, excessive amounts of this substance can cause brain damage.
Levels of phenylalanine high enough  can cause  brain damage and other serious medical problems.

Great question... I use to do the same thing. Except instead of 1 can per day, I normally went through about 3 a day!! yikes, glad I kicked that habit... it was wreaking havoc on my gut and my wallet. Seriously though, an occassional can of diet coke here and there is okay because it clearly has less sugar than the regular coke. But, as other posters have said, there is quite a bit of sodium and other electrolytes in diet soda that can wreak havoc on your digestive system. Drinking ++ amounts of sodium can cause water retention (and make you feel "heavy) and can also lead to a need to drink more fluids to balance out the sodium. Also, with all the chemical additives and artificial sugars in the pop (although there is no conclusive evidence that suggests they are cancer causing or fatal) are definitely not natural substances and as such, your body will be unsure of how to properly process and excrete the artificial chemicals from your body. The best bet is to drink ample amounts of water, possibly fruit water that is naturally infused (if you need the flavor), and the occassional diet pop now and then... try not to go overboard. Who knows what it could do?